Silva, Suunto, or Brunton
Silva, Suunto, or Brunton?
All three of these companies make good handheld compasses for land navigation and all three also make some low end compasses that I would not recommend. At the top end, it is difficult to say which company builds the compass that will perform the best or last the longest, so I would focus on the getting your favorite features for the best price rather than reputation because just who is making the compass that you are inspecting is not as straightforward as you might expect.
In 1932 Silva became the first manufacturer of the baseplate (orienteering) compass, and built a reputation for quality around its Silva Ranger and other models. However, in 1985 , Johnson Worldwide Associates (now Johnson Outdoors Inc.) bought the North American side of the Silva company, and beginning in the late 1990s, compasses like the Ranger are no longer manufactured by Silva. Over the past few years I have seen an increasing number of negative reviews of the Silva Ranger, so there is some question about quality control since the transition to Johnson Outdoors. However, there is also an indication that the Suunto company manufactures compasses for Johnson Outdoors, so I am not sure I believe in any huge discrepancy between the quality of these two brands. I have used both for many years.
The original parent company of the Silva Ranger is now called Silva Sweden AB and it still sells compasses under the Silva name outside the U.S., but get this, it has owned Brunton since 1996. So the Brunton Model 15 sold in the U.S. could be considered a more direct descendant of the Silva Ranger than the Silva Ranger that Johnson Outdoors produces. To make matters more confusing, some of the original Brunton-designed compasses are sold under the Silva brand name outside the U.S.
Suunto brand compasses were not involved in the acquisitions and legal dealings that produced today’s complicated brand identification, but the company apparently manufactures some compasses for Johnson Outdoors to be sold under the Silva name in North America.
Silva, Suunto, or Brunton?
All three of these companies make good handheld compasses for land navigation and all three also make some low end compasses that I would not recommend. At the top end, it is difficult to say which company builds the compass that will perform the best or last the longest, so I would focus on the getting your favorite features for the best price rather than reputation because just who is making the compass that you are inspecting not as straightforward as you might expect.
In 1932 Silva became the first manufacturer of the baseplate (orienteering) compass, and built a reputation for quality around its Silva Ranger and other models. However, in 1985 , Johnson Worldwide Associates (now Johnson Outdoors Inc.) bought the North American side of the Silva company, and as of the late 1990s, compasses like the Ranger are no longer manufactured by Silva. Over the past few years I have seen an increasing number of negative reviews of the Silva Ranger, so there is some question about quality control since the transition to Johnson Outdoors. However, there is also an indication that Suunto compasses manufactures compasses for Johnson Outdoors, so I am not sure I believe in any huge discrepancy between the quality of these two brands. I have used both for many years.
The original parent company of the Silva Ranger is now called Silva Sweden AB and it still sells compasses under the Silva name outside the U.S., but get this, it has owned Brunton since 1996. So the Brunton Model 15 sold in the U.S. could be considered a more direct descendent of the Silva Ranger than the Silva Ranger that Johnson Outdoors produces. To make matters more confusing, some of the original Brunton-designed compasses are sold under the Silva brand name outside the U.S.
Suunto brand compasses were not involved in the acquisitions and legal dealings that produced today’s complicated brand identification, but the company apparently manufactures some compasses for Johnson Outdoors to be sold under the Silva name in North America.
Silva Ranger 515CL Review
The Silva Ranger 515 CL is one of the most popular handheld baseplate (orienteering) compasses on the planet. It has been my compass of choice over a 20 year career as a park ranger and forester. I have had one of my Silva Rangers for 15 years. I have broken or lost others.
This compass has a bright, easy to read bezel (compass dial), adjustable declination, a cool sighting slit in the mirror, a clinometer and all the right map scales. It’s also the lightest compass in it’s class, weighing in at 2.2 ounces (compared with 2.65 for the Suunto MC-2D and 3.0 oz for the Brunton 15TDCL).
Silva Ranger 515CL
Unfortunately, the reliability of the trusted Silva brand is not enough for me to recommend that you buy this compass without even looking at the competition. In 1998 Silva’s U.S. operations changed hands (see Silva, Suunto, or Brunton?) and there have been some concerns expressed about a slip in quality. I have purchased two of these models in the past few years, and I had some POTENTIALLY quality-related issues with both of them.
One, I bought in about 2003 and I noticed the bezel (compass dial) felt a little loose. I have seen other reviews that mention this issue. However, the play in the dial felt much larger than it really is. I’m a forester, not a surveyor, so the 1/10th of a degree of accuracy that I might be loosing with the loose dial is a non-issue. Local magnetic anomalies are a much larger concern than a little play in the bezel anyway. The real question is whether it is indicative of some greater lapse in quality. So far this does not seem to be the case and I still use the 515 CL each summer in the field and it works great.
A more recent experience with this model came in 2009 when I purchased a Silva Ranger 515CL for a Map and Compass video I was creating. Within a week the compass developed a huge bubble, and within a month all the liquid had leaked out. On the surface this seems like an indication of poor quality, but I have no evidence that the rate of leaky compass production is any greater with this model or brand than with its competitors. I have bought at least 30 of the pre-1998 Silva Rangers when I managed equipment for my fellow park rangers, and a couple of those developed leaks too, but I also had a Suunto compass with a leak a few years ago. So I am not ready to make any accusations about quality based on my experiences with the new Silva Ranger.
My recommendation is to check out the prices of competitive models and, if you like it and get a good deal on it, give the Silva Ranger 515CL a try. If you have lingering doubts, get your hands on one at an outdoor store before buying sight unseen.
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